Sensor-based, electro-optical systems have historically been limited in their ability -to image a wide range of illumination levels within a single integrated scene. This limitation n intra-scene dynamic range is emphasized in systems applied in low light level applications where the scene illumination can be as high as 1,000,000 to 1. Standard video rate image sensors are limited in dynamic range and therefore are only able to discern a limited portion of the total scene content. This lack of adequate dynamic range is particularly noticeable in video imaging systems employing image intensifiers where the brightness of large diameter transparent halos around point sources of light exceed the intra-scene dynamic range capability of standard sensor technology.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus for increasing the dynamic range of sensor based imagers.